Cold Fire
by Angela's Fire
Summary: In Draco's 6th year, he finds that a certain oath-bound professor has his eye on him. Snape/Draco
1. Chapter 1

"What's this then?" The ragged voice of Argus Filch rasped across the early evening air. In his hand was an ebony walking stick, the last rays of sunlight shining off of its elaborate snake handle. Draco Malfoy watched his open trunk being rifled through with a sense of growing apprehension. Filch hefted Lucius Malfoy's walking stick. "Could be a weapon, it's a cane." Draco's fear at losing that piece of his father, the wounds of Azkaban still fresh in his mind, he snapped angrily. "It's a walking stick, not a cane!" Filch's face twisted. As his mouth opened, a pale hand gripped the cane. "I… will vouch for Mr. Malfoy." Snape's voice rang in the quiet of the forest. With a look of irritation, Filch released his grip. Severus looked at Draco, whose eyes smoldered with anger. He raised an eyebrow and gave an almost unperceivable lift to the cane. Draco grabbed the walking stick and strode away, pride smarting. Behind him, he could hear the Perfect Trio whispering. Oh, bloody marvelous.

Severus Snape watched his charge stride off into the forest coolly. There was something about him… Sweeping past Filch with his normal air of importance, he followed the young Malfoy in the dim evening light.

Draco could hear footsteps a ways behind him, just beyond the bend in the trees. It was the Trio, he was sure of it. Feeling sick with shame and nerves, though his well schooled features showed none of it, Draco ducked into an alcove he had discovered in his fourth year. He wasn't visible, and he turned his back to the noises, father's stick in hand, as two singular tears ran down his fair face. The footsteps did not fade, and then stopped. Draco didn't notice. Two pale hands robed in black grabbed either side of the walking stick and pulled him against the taller frame of a man. Even in the dim light, he recognized his potions master. "Snape." Severus said nothing. His lips brushed Draco's neck. Draco bristled, startled. Severus kissed his neck again; slow, light caresses against his skin. Draco's skin prickled and a fluttering feeling sparked in his stomach, much like the feeling of hot breath against his skin. "N-no. S-s-sto-" Severus's lips moving up, along the skin behind his ear stopped his words, leaving the blond Malfoy heir speechless, breathless.

"Stop what?" The light whisper of the words across his skin would remain unanswered. Draco could not find the air in his lungs to respond. It was as if his professor's touch had blown it all away. As the silence reigned, the warmth of Severus's mouth moved down to the base of Draco's neck. He kissed along the tender skin. "Stop this?" Draco's breath hitched. If it weren't for the pressure of the walking stick, he wasn't sure that he would be standing. The press of its bar against his chest only increased how acutely aware he was of just how close Snape was. "Or this?" Snape's voice slid smoothly to Draco's ears as he caressed the base of Draco's neck his warm mouth, the moist heat stark against the building chill of the evening.

The potions master's low, quiet chuckle was meant only for Draco's ears. "Stop what Draco? Look at me when I'm talking to you." The words were sultry, almost dangerous in their depth. Almost involuntarily, Draco turned his head. Severus's deep, passion filled eyes looked down at him, the man with a dark smile. "What should I stop?" He lowered his head slightly, stopping just barely away from their skin touching, eyes staring deeply into Draco's own. In a whisper almost inaudible, "Stop this?" He took Draco's lips with his own, a warm caress that sent fire down Draco's body. His kissed him in the growing dusk, his eyes keeping contact with Draco's dazed blue eyes. His slow passion built a heat between the two. "Perhaps, what you meant," Snape breathed against Draco's lips, "was this." He took Draco's bottom lip in his mouth and bit lightly, before licking the caressing wound. A wave of goose-flesh ran down Draco's arms. He bit again, lightly before asking against Draco's lips. "Hmm, was it that?"

Severus kissed his way back to Draco's ear, the boy much too dazed to say anything at all, his blood on fire in a way he could never have imagined. "Or perhaps," Severus whispered low in Draco's ear, "What you meant was… don't stop." The last words were dark and husky with promise. Snape released the cane, which hung in the air, still gripped by the heat stricken Slytherin. Cold night air met Draco's back, bringing him from his fire-y daze. He turned, and all that he saw in the last rays of light, was a black clad figure striding away as if nothing had changed. And maybe, for Severus Snape, nothing had.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco relished the feel of the cool dungeon air as he made his way to the new Care of Magical Creatures classroom. Having Snape as the new professor hadn't seemed at all noteworthy... until yesterday. Draco had been too busy with his new responsibilities as a prefect to notice much the day before, but the tingling feeling along his spine told him that Snape had not forgotten. Thankful that there was no one else in the hallway, the icy blond prince took a breath in and reset his regal features to a well trained mask of aloof disdain. Draco pushed open the doors and made his way in, to all images not caring that any one was in the room. He took in the room around him. There were tables for students and shelves lining one wall, seemingly filled with cages and preserved specimens. Seeing the other Slytherin students, and ignoring the Hufflepuffs, he sat down next to Blaise Zambini. Around the room, every one was talking.

"So, Malfoy, what do you think Professor Snape's going to have us do?" Zambini asked. Several rather... interesting images flashed through Draco's mind, but thankfully his well trained manner gave nothing away.

"I assume it will be the same as ever, Zambini." Draco answered coolly. The other boy turned away, accepting the answer. In truth, Draco wasn't sure what to think anymore. The class continued to talk, their collective murmer staying just below a roar. They were excitedly tossing greetings and summer stories back and forth, and the tedium of schoolwork had yet to dull their excitement. Draco sat back and nodded coolly to the stories ranging between the Slytherins, commenting only when someone directed a question at him. He didn't feel much like trading stories, and whenever someone began to ask, his steely eyed glare changed their minds. The image of Azkaban was prevelant in all of their minds.

There was a clear, clipped noise as the door opened. The room silenced almost immediatly, as Professor Snape walked into the room. His cold, dark eyes swept over the room, and a few Hufflepuffs put away the pictures of themselves waving excitedly at summer locations. Snape turned when he reached the front of the room, just in front of his desk. "It appears that another school year is upon us. Now take out your books, and we will begin with the Chapter Seven."

The class pulled out their books and opened to chapter seven. Emblazoned across the top of the page was, Chapter Seven: A Study of Animalistic Omens. Omens, bloody marvelous, Draco Thought. He might as well be in Divination.

"The Augury is a bird-like creature that is similar to what other magical creature?" Professor Snape asked the room, expecting them to surely know. There was silence. Professor's Snape's eyes flashed angrily. "Nothing? Not one of you?" Draco found himself thinking about those dark, snapping eyes and less and less about what was going on in the class. Professor Snape focused his cold anger on a Hufflepuff boy who had mistakenly chosen to sit in the front of the room.

The flash of Snape's cool dark eyes flickered through his mind, and was replaced by the warm inprint of his body against Draco's back from the first night. The dark voice in his ear, the press of the bar holding him against the other man. Light goosebumps raised on Draco's arms, but were inconspicuous in the cool dungeon air. A sharp voice snapped into his revery.

"Mr. Malfoy, now, if you please." The cold, vaguely irritated voice made Draco leave behind memories of snapping eyes, to look into angry ones. "The answer?" Draco blinked. He hadn't been listening. His mind scrambled for an answer.

"Er... Manticore?" The cold mockery in Snape's eyes told him otherwise.

"If, Mr. Malfoy, you assume that a Manticore has any resemblance to an Augury, you are sadly mistaken." Draco kept his face a blank, almost distainful slate as the rest of the class held their breath and kept their eyes on the Malfoy heir. Time ticked slowly, each second like it would never end, and Draco kept his eyes locked with his professor. To the students in the room, he seemed to be simply staring him down. "Well then, Mr. Malfoy. It appears that you will spend an hour of time in detention tonight." Draco held his icy calm, but inside something started. Something flickered in Proffesor Snape's eyes, though Draco almost didn't believe he saw it. His breath hitched imperceptively and the look in Snape's eyes dissappeared. Draco nodded in acknowledgement of the detention, refusing to meet the eyes of any of the other students. He was a prefect and a Slytherin to boot. They were all slightly stunned as to the professor's action.

In that moment of calm, Snape rounded on the unfortunate Hufflepuff from before who had also been unable to answer. The moment of Draco's detention was forgotten, as each person did their best to look busy enough to go unnoticed. With an irritable snap of a cold voice, the black clad professor began to speak of the Phoenix and it's relation to the Augury, as well as the many omens that came from hearing their cries. The word "Phoenix" was running through Draco's mind, but it slowly slipped away to be replaced by the look in Professor Snape's eyes when they had stared each other down. As the class discussed a bird reborn of fire, Draco thought he knew what that must feel like. That look in Snape's eyes had left his blood burning in the same way.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco stood in the damp chill of the dungeon, outside the door to Professor Snape's office. The hallway was empty and no one could see him, so the Slytherin ran his hands through his hair and took a breath to calm himself. It was only detention. Nothing was going to happen. He wasn't going to let anything happen. His imagination supplied Draco with a myriad of sultry images and he hurriedly pushed them from his mind. Draco's heart was beating faster. Taking another breath, he resumed his calm and knocked on the professor's door. There was silence for a moment, and Draco wondered if Snape had forgotten.

"Come in, Mr. Malfoy." He obviously had not. Draco opened the door and stepped into the familiar office. Snape was seated behind his desk calmly writing something and a small fire burned in his fireplace. The dark-haired man raised his head and made a small gesture at the stool to the side of his desk. Draco moved across the room and sat, waiting for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to say something. Snape looked down at his papers, began writing again, and said nothing.

Draco wasn't sure what to make of this. He'd been in many detentions before, he was a Slytherin after all, but never one this oddly silent. The other professors all gave him his task and left him to it. The unspoken task hung heavily in the air. Time was moving slowly and Draco did his best not to fidget. Snape did nothing. The scritch-scritch sound of his quill was the only noise in the room, besides the soft pop of fire in the fireplace.

As Snape wrote, Draco examined his room. The shelves were still in the same spots, with the same surprising jars and the same rows of books. Nothing had changed. His eyes flicked to Snape and quickly flicked away. He was trying not to think about the older man, but being this close all he could think about was the feel of his hot lips pressed against his own. Draco shivered lightly, and tried his best to make it look like it was only a slight draft in the dungeon.

He turned his eyes back to the room, trying to drive the images of Snape from his mind. He looked at the pictures on one wall, and even began counting the books. One... Two... Three... Four... Five... The memory of his father's cane holding him against Snape's body as the older man ran his lips along his ear wiped the number from his mind. He blinked, surprised, and realized he had lost track. What had he been at again? Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven... Eight...

Finally, Draco lost interest in the books. His curiosity was getting the better of him, and by this point the replay of their encounter was playing through his mind in full. His eyes ran over Snape's face, lingering on his lips. Oh, what those lips could do... Draco licked his lips. Realizing what he'd done, he looked at Snape nervously, afraid that he'd seen. It appeared that the professor was busy with his letter and had not seen.

Feeling more brazen, Draco ran his eyes along Snape's body. He was beautiful, even the loose fitting robes he wore could not hide that. Some people may have scoffed, but there was a beauty in him, and the things those hands could do... Draco's body was warming at the image.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape said with out even looking up from his paper. "You have been staring for quite some time. Is there something on your mind?" He looked up from what he was doing and Draco momentarily forgot to breathe. Severus Snape was looking at him with a heated look in his black, black eyes. A small, wicked smile played across his lips, and he raised one eye brow in query. "Well?"


End file.
